The Incredible Arctic Circle Trail
Abdominal muscles notion of trekking a long waymarked trail in Greenland must conjure up pictures of endless ice-fields, marauding polar bears, desperate struggles for survival and enormous expense. In fact, the Arctic Circle Trail offers a fairly simple trek, provided it is approached with careful thought and planning. Ignore the huge ice-cap and polar bears, which are there if you would like them, but don't feature around the trail. Instead, give full attention to among the largest ice-free elements of Greenland, involving the air-port at Kangerlussuaq and also the western seaboard at Sisimiut.
The Arctic Circle Trail is genuinely north in the Arctic Circle for the entire length, so that in midsummer there's no nightfall, and also for the brief summer season ordinary trekkers can enjoy the wild and desolate tundra by simply following stone-built cairns. Considering there's absolutely nowhere you can aquire provisions along the way, for upwards of 100 miles (160km), hard part will be ruthless when packing food as well as the kit you'll want to stay alive. Water is clean, fresh, plentiful and freely available. In the event you bring your food to Greenland and limit your spending, the trail could be completed with limited funds. Detailed maps and guidebooks can be obtained.
Some trekkers burden themselves with huge and heavy packs, which require great effort to hold, which often means carrying lots of food to stoke with extra calories. Think light and pack light. There are some basic wooden huts at intervals along the way, offering four walls, a roof covering, and bunks for between four and 24 trekkers. They may not be staffed, cannot be pre-booked, and offer no facilities apart from shelter. If you possess a tent, you can pitch it anywhere you prefer, subject and then the of the terrain and the prevailing weather.
In general, the weather arises from two directions - east and west. An easterly breeze, coming over ice-cap, is cool and incredibly dry. A westerly breeze, coming off the sea, brings cloud and a way of measuring rain. It will not snow from the short summer season, mid-June to mid-September, but for the other time, varying levels of snow and ice will take care of the trail, as well as in the centre of winter it'll be dark continuously and temperatures will plummet far, far below freezing for months on end.
The air port at Kangerlussuaq enjoys around 300 clear-sky days each year, so the weather needs to be good, and the trail starts by using a simple tarmac and dirt road. Past the research station at Kellyville, the path is just a narrow path across empty tundra dotted with lakes. If you are planning to steer from hut to hut, then the route will need maybe nine days, unless stages are doubled-up. By using a tent offers greater flexibility, and a few trekkers complete the road inside a week. Huts are located at Hundeso, Katiffik, The Canoe Centre, Ikkattook, Eqalugaarniarfik, Innajuattok, Nerumaq and Kangerluarsuk Tulleq. Youth hostels and hotels can be found with the terminal points of Kangerlussuaq and Sisimiut.
You will find the option to make use of a free kayak to paddle all day over the large lake of Amitsorsuaq, rather than walk along its shore. There are only a number of kayaks, and if they all are moored in the 'wrong' end in the lake, then walking will be the only option. The path can often be low-lying, below 500ft (150m), but climbs occasionally over 1300ft (400m), notably around Ikkattook, Iluliumanersuup Portornga and Qerrortusuk Majoriaa. There's a couple of river crossings whose difficulty depends on melt-water and rainfall. These are difficult at the start of the summer season, but much better to ford later. The most important river, Ole's Lakseelv, includes a footbridge if neccessary.
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